68 http://www.business-spotlight.de 2/2014of this is to say that it would be a
good thing to get rid of teamwork
and get rid of group work altogeth-
er,” she told NPR. “It’s more just to
say that we’re at a point in our cul-
ture, and in our workplace culture,
where we’ve gotten too lopsided. We
tend to believe that all creativity and
all productivity comes from the
group, when in fact, there really is a
benefit to solitudeand to being able
to go off and focus and put your head
down.” An office made up only of ei-
ther introverts or extroverts wouldby nature von Natur aus
[)baI (neItS&r*]
check in with sb. sich mit jmdm.
[)tSek (In wIT*] ifml. besprechen
lopsided [(lA:p)saIdId*] einseitig
put one’s head down hier: sich ganz auf
[)pUt wVnz (hed daUn] eine Sache konzen-
ifml. trieren
solitude [(sA:lEtu:d*] Alleinsein
volunteer information bereitwillig mit
[vA:lEn)tI&r Informationen
)Inf&r(meIS&n*] herausrückennot function well — or at least not for
long. But introverts do bring certain
advantages to their employers. They
are good listeners who are able to
work independently and who can be
creative if given an opportunity to
work on their own. Their managers
need to realize, however, that intro-
verted workers are unlikely to volun-
teer informationabout their projects,
says workplace psychologist Dr. Mar-
la Gottschalk. “By nature, introverts
can be less likely to share their
thoughts — which makes it evenmore important that you check in
withthem regularly. Send them an
e-mail, asking how their projectsCAREERS INTROVERTS AT WORKSusan Cain’sQuiet: The Power of In-
troverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talk-
ingwas one of the most successful non-
fiction booksof 2012. It has been
translated into more than 30 lan-
guages. In Germany, it is published by
Goldmann with the title Still: Die Kraft
der Introvertierten.
For author Cain, herself an introvert,
producing the book was a labor of love.
Perhaps because she feels so strongly
aboutthe subject, she was also able to
promote the book, giving media inter-
views and going on international book
tours. “My year of speaking dangerous-
ly” is how she refers to the promotion-
al activities.
Susan Cain communicated with
Business Spotlightvia e-mail about the
surprising success of her book.Has your book made it more acceptable
— perhaps even cool — for people to
describe themselves as introverts?Yes. I have been amazedby the people
who are coming forwardto identify
themselves as introverts now. Recently,
I sat on a panelwith [media mogul]Arianna Huffington, [Bill Clinton’s for-
mer communications director] George
Stephanopoulos, and [actress] Candice
Bergen, and they all claimed to be in-
troverts!
Is it possible for introverts to behave
like extroverts at work? And if so, do
they suffer any physical or psychologi-
cal repercussions?
Yes, it’s possible — they do it all the
time. And yes, if we act too often out of
character, as the psychologist Brian
Little says, we suffer repercussions
both physical and psychological. The
key is to step out of character strate-
gically and in small doses, but to give
yourself what Little calls “restorative
niches” in which to be true to yourself.As an introvert, how do you prepare for
a book tour or speaking engagement?
I give myself many breaks in between
engagements! It also helps that I’m so
passionate about my subject.“If we act too often out of character,
we suffer physical and
psychological repercussions”
amazed [EmeIzd] erstaunt
book tour [(bUk tU&r*] Lesereise
come forward hervortreten
[)kVm (fO:rw&rd*]
dose[doUs*] Dosis
feel strongly about sth. etw. liegt einem am
[)fi:&l (strO:Nli E)baUt*] Herzen
labor of love: be a ~ aus Liebe zur
[)leIb&r Ev (lVv*] Sache geschehen
niche [nItS*] Nische
non-fiction book Sachbuch
[)nA:n )fIkS&n (bUk*]
out of character gegen das eigene
[)aUt Ev (kÄrEkt&r*] Naturell
panel: sit on a ~ an einer Podiums-
[(pÄn&l] diskussion teilneh-
men
repercussion Auswirkung, Konse-
[)ri:p&r(kVS&n*] quenz
restorative der Regenerierung
[ri(stO:rEtIv] dienend
speaking engagement Vortrag(stermin)
[(spi:kIN In)geIdZmEnt]
true to oneself: be ~ sich selbst treu sein,
[)tru: tE wVn(self*] sich nicht verleugnenAaron Fedor* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.* This symbol marks standard US pronunciation.Best-selling introvert: Susan Cain66-70 Careers main 2_14 16.01.14 15:46 Seite 68